paramount
by rijujuju
Summary: Sakuma has long since decided his love life is, to say the least, 'different'. Or, 20 facts you might not know about the strange relationship between Sakuma Jirou, Fudou Akio, and Genda Koujirou.


_A/N_

 _I'm still getting used to writing Inazuma fic in general, let alone posting it, so sorry if there's any errors! I put this on AO3 a while ago, and now that I'm finally becoming active on again... Well. Wrote this one for a friend currently in the hospital, a bit before he had to go. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated!_

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1\. Sakuma and Fudou's relationship is rocky and hard to define. Endou tried, once, and ended up scratching his head in confusion. After that, the subject was dropped. They get together for the first time three days after Fudou's sixteenth birthday, and break up exactly a week later when Sakuma gets angry at one comment or another and pushes him down the stairs. Kidou tells Sakuma that he deserved better, really, though the other boy is technically their friend now, and Sakuma looks at him with something that looks like heartbreak. Three days later, they two of them are holding hands. Kidou doesn't say anything, after that.

2\. Besides a bi-weekly kiss on the cheek or a brief squeeze of the hands, Fudou and Sakuma are not publicly affectionate. The two seem to be at their throats most of the time, and not in a sexual manner. Fudou pokes at Sakuma's tender spots for fun, and Sakuma always has a sharp comment at hand. Most people are surprised they're even dating in the first place. Behind closed doors, though, Sakuma will drape his long legs over Fudou's lap as he reads and ignore Fudou's blunt fingers as he drums them against his thigh. Sakuma has long gotten used to tuning the television out.

3\. Genda is, as everyone knows, Sakuma's best friend. Kidou is a close friend too, of course, but they were traded for another trio in their last year of middle school. They were both bitter about it for a bit, but in the end they've only become closer. Genda is tall and quiet and surprisingly calm headed, which contrasts with Sakuma's brashness and judgmental attitude. He's been on the FuSaku ride since it began, and it's not exactly something you can get off of easily. So Genda stands behind his two friends as they argue, adding comments when needed, and pretends he isn't head over heels with his childhood friend.

4\. Fudou is the only one who knows Sakuma as well as Kidou. As well as Genda, he'd boast, but he's not sure if that's true. Fudou is the one Sakuma came to after he was shot down by Kidou, if only because Genda was visiting his family in Kyoto and therefore unavailable. Fudou has never been good at comforting, and sat there awkwardly as Sakuma told him in an empty voice that Kidou had shot him down, and he had already known it would happen, so it wasn't that big of a deal anyway. Fudou wanted to shake his shoulders and tell him to get over him, Kidou wasn't that great anyway, but how would that help? So he sat there and listened to Sakuma, who didn't seem to see him anymore, as he ranted and vented and cried. Finally, he shrugged once and said, "Hey, well, I'm here for you. Or whatever."

Sakuma had looked startled, blinked, and cracked a small smile.  
"…Thanks."

That was how their friendship - if you could call it that - truly began.

5\. Fudou hates cats. He hates them. He's also allergic, which only adds to his general dislike of anything small, furry, and meowing. Genda, meanwhile, loves cats. In his tiny apartment, he's somehow fit five of the satanic creatures, and succeeded in Fudou avoiding him constantly. Of course, Sakuma doesn't, and the moment he walks in the door Fudou starts to sneeze.

When Genda finally moved in with them, Sakuma cornered his boyfriend.

"You have to take allergy medicine."

"What?" Fudou scoffed. "Just tell him to get rid of them."

Sakuma looked almost offended on Genda's behalf. "Of course we can't! He loves those cats!"

"That's really sad."

This started another fight, of course, and Genda stayed in his room with the headphones on. In the end, Fudou started taking pills in the morning, and Genda got to keep his cats.

6\. Sakuma's parents hate Fudou. Sakuma is used to his parents disliking things he likes. His older brother is the perfect one, of course. When he wanted to do soccer instead of join the debate club, they almost threw a fit. He only got to play as long as his grades didn't drop. Liking Kidou was - well, not easy, but perhaps easier. Sakuma knew he would never date Kidou, they would never hold hands or share kisses or late nights cuddling. So he would never have to tell his parents that, no, he wasn't going to find a girlfriend, he was madly in love with his ex-captain.

And then Fudou happened.

Fudou was firey, as unpredictable and destructive as a hurricane. Him and Sakuma butted heads constantly, bit and scratched and kicked and-

Sakuma's parents did not approve of Fudou.

You could do so much better, they said, even if you are of that (long pause) persuasion. Sakuma listens to their lecture, then goes home and goes to bed next to the very boy they were warning him about. He could do better, maybe. Better was Kidou. Better was that short infatuation with Kazemaru, but Kazemaru only had eyes for one person anyway, and that person was absolutely not Sakuma.

And he's fine with Fudou, really. He likes unpredictable.

7\. Sakuma has long since decided his love life is, to say the least, 'different'. Fudou is far from the perfect partner. He hates showering, he snores, kicks Sakuma off the bed in his sleep, and refuses to clean up after himself. And that's enough, at first, until one day Sakuma opens his eyes as Fudou is pulling out, and Fudou says,

"Wanna invite Genda in?"

Sakuma stares up at Fudou like he's grown a second head.

"What?"

Fudou shrugs and drops it, but Sakuma suddenly can't stop thinking about it. Him and Fudou have sex often, and loudly, so he's sure Genda's aware by now as their housemate. He did, after all, purchase a very nice pair of noise canceling headphones last month. But would he join? Would he want do?

Does Genda even like Sakuma that way, let alone Fudou?

In the end, he ends up kissing Genda over wine, and Fudou smiles smugly.

After that, Genda's bed is abandoned to his cats.

8\. They all have very different tastes in drink. Sakuma likes wine, expensive and red as the blood going through his veins. Fudou prefers beer, any kind, really, most often the cheap stuff he gets at the gas station down the street. Genda doesn't really drink at all, sipping water or soda instead. But he likes snagging sips from Sakuma or a gulp from Fudou, so maybe his tastes were more broad than the other two.

9\. Sakuma is exactly four and a half inches taller than Fudou. His legs are long and thin, almost lanky, and his fingers graceful. Fudou is shorter, thicker, more muscular. His fingers are shorter and squared off at the tip, and he has a habit of chewing on his nails when no one is looking. Sakuma's nails, like the rest of him, are impeccably groomed. He showers twice a day, shaves, and goes through a bottle of lotion a month. Fudou would rather sleep than shower, and usually Sakuma has to force him. Genda is taller than both of them, with broad shoulders and thick thighs. He uses this height to his advantage, and usually ignores Fudou's more wild requests, but he's still whipped when it comes to Sakuma. This starts fights, sometimes, but less and less as they get older. Endou wonders again how they get along so well, and Sakuma shrugs. Underneath the table, their legs tangle together.

10\. Fudou's favorite color is orange. Not like a pumpkin, but more like Sakuma's eyes. Genda's favorite color is blue, blue with a pale gray tone. He likes it best paired with a darker, tanner color.

(Sakuma can never know)

11\. Sakuma and Genda meet Fudou's father when he is seventeen. They're standing at the light, Sakuma sending a quick message to Kazemaru, when there is a tap on his shoulder.

"Are you Jirou Sakuma?" a tall man asks. He has Fudou's nose. Sakuma nods, startled, and Genda looks the man up and down. He introduces himself.

"How is Akio doing?"

"Fine," Sakuma says, voice clipped.

"Good." Genda replies, blue eyes cold.

They wonder when the man got in town, and if Fudou knows.

"That's a relief." The man smiles shakily. "I'm glad to hear he's doing good."

"Yeah," Sakuma replies, and the light turns green. They leave the older Fudou standing there, and don't tell their boyfriend about the encounter. And they never see him again.

Sakuma and Genda hate Fudou's dad almost as much as he does.

12\. Fudou's birthday is exactly six months and one day after Genda's. This is his half birthday, he decides, and as such he deserves another cake. Sakuma replies by pushing an entire piece into his face.

13\. Genda is the best at English out of all of them. When they're in their final year of high school, their entire class goes to America for a conference. Fudou gets the idea to explore California all on his own, and Sakuma follows because who else would keep Fudou in check? And, well, it's a given that Genda is wherever Sakuma is.

They find themselves in the subway, somewhere on the red line, and Sakuma has lost all patience. Fudou doesn't even try asking for directions, swearing that he knows the way back. Sakuma tries, once, before turning red and stuttering out a broken apology before shuffling back. They're arguing over a subway map when Genda comes up to them.

"We have to take line B to get back to Times Square."

Sakuma looks at him in surprise, Fudou in disbelief. "How do you know that?"  
"I asked." Genda motions to a woman with a child standing on the platform behind them.

They end up getting back to the hotel in one piece, and Sakuma kicks Fudou the next time he tries to run off.

14\. Christmas is not a good holiday in their household. They stopped getting a christmas tree after their first year living in an apartment together, after Genda's cats knocked it over and broke Sakuma's heirloom christmas ornaments. Fudou hated the day, anyway, he hated the entire season. Sakuma teased him about it, calling him the grinch, until Fudou blew up and they found out exactly why he hated Christmas so much.

They spend the day in bed instead, legs tangled together and arms looped around each other. Sakuma kissed Fudou hard and cursed his father to the hell he was sure the man was going to.

15\. Half a finger's length above the jut of his hipbone, Sakuma has a burn, shiny and mottled age. He got it in his second year of high school, when Nakamura Yuusuke spilled boiling water on him in chemistry. Purposefully. He'd been sick of Sakuma being the best in class, and Yuusuke was one of those spoiled brats Teikoku High attracted, if only because it was the most expensive school in Japan. At Sakuma's startled yelp, Fudou whipped around and shot the boy a withering glare. Genda's eyes narrowed, silent fury and a deadly gaze, and Yuusuke looked suddenly like he very, very much regretted what he'd done. The next day, Yuusuke didn't come to school, or the day after that. He didn't show up until a week later, when he stammered out an apology to Sakuma before never looking at him again. This set the tone from then on: whatever touched Sakuma answered to Fudou and Genda, action for equal reaction.

(Sakuma asked them what they'd done, and they never told him. They only gave each other a small, shared smile over Sakuma's silver head.)

16\. Genda stopped playing soccer sometime in high school. While Sakuma, somehow, managed to fully recover from his injuries, Genda did not. Metal screws and wires hold his elbows into place, and his collarbone is fragile now, never fully healed. After middle school, he plays for exactly 8 months before retiring with a quiet apology. His smile is more strained the next time he goes to see Sakuma's game, because he loves playing on a team with Sakuma. Fudou is still captain, and something about the way they play together hurts his chest. It isn't until he's in his twenties and their relationship is well established that he realizes his heart isn't aching anyway. Sakuma's still working with Kidou and Fudou's long gone professional, and Genda spends his time learning about zoology and making lunches for his boyfriends. He's never felt more domestic, but he doesn't mind being on the sidelines. Not if it means he can still cheer for them.

17\. The only thing Fudou's mom got Sakuma and Genda's gratitude for was giving them her old house when she died. Fudou shrugged off their condolences. He hadn't talked to her in years, anyway.

18\. Genda is much more affectionate than Fudou or Sakuma are (see 2). Sakuma drapes himself in Genda's lap, and the taller holds him around the middle and noses into his hair. Fudou wakes up with his face pressed into Genda's chest, and finds it hard to free himself from Genda's arms. The tallest of them is almost as much of a cat as his own pets, and is constantly nuzzling, holding or stroking. When he picks up Fudou, once, the shorter one lets out a startled squawk and starts to struggle. So Genda keeps holding him, sits down on the couch, and traps him there.

Sakuma takes a picture. He doesn't think Fudou minds it half as much as he pretends he does.

19\. Sakuma's mother was an intrepid woman with a narrow, lithe faith more befitting of a Shakespearean villain than a forty-two year old Tokyo University grad with more money than she knew what to do with. She ran the household, really, though his father was the only one who made money. Sakuma grew up with a harsh upbringing, where perfection and strength was key. It's part of the reason he fell into Fudou's trap so easily, back in middle school.

When Sakuma is five years old, his mother hands him an eyepatch to put over his right eye. Never take it off, she tells him. And he doesn't. Not until he's in his twenties, and only around Genda and Fudou and the cats. It doesn't matter anymore, anyway. He's already disowned.

20\. It takes a while for Endou to stop questioning their relationship. Kidou might have had something to do with it, because he gives the three of them a fond smile when he sees them together. It's much better than it used to be. Or maybe Endou just got used to it.

After all, they seem to be in it for the long run. And really, they couldn't be happier.


End file.
